They registered a 24 percent spike in queries in the week after Rishi Sunak said he would extend the stamp duty holiday while offering 95 percent mortgage guarantees to first-time buyers. Demand overall is now running 80 percent higher than in the same period over the past four years. A year on from the first lockdown, houses are selling three weeks faster than flats as the race for space intensifies, according to research from property website Zoopla. More than half a million buyers are expected to benefit from stamp duty relief with markets in the North-east, North-west and Yorkshire and the Humber best positioned.
There are around 130,000 properties for sale in England which are stamp duty free for another six months.
Zoopla estimates this amounts to a potential saving of £123million which will only increase as more properties are listed for sale.
The Budget also sparked an uplift in searches for one and two-bedroom flats in London and the South-east.
This indicates increased buying intent among firsttime buyers, who will be boosted by the 95 percent mortgage guarantee once it comes into play next month.
Average prices for March are up 4.1 percent since the start of the first lockdown, amounting to £8,907 on the year, or £750 per month.
This annual house price growth is down slightly from 4.4 percent in February but marks the fourth consecutive month of house price growth over four percent.
Grainne Gilmore, head of research at Zoopla, said: “The search for space is driving continued demand for family homes, which means prices for houses are rising faster than flats, and houses are also selling more quickly.
“The prospects for the housing market over the next year have improved on the back of Budget.”